


STRQ Prompts and Drabbles

by Shadowpool95



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Hummingbird - Freeform, Phoenix - Freeform, in this house we do whatever the hell we want, most are originally from tumblr, nothing too angsty because i am soft, oneshots, probably a lot of short drabbles, qrow is ruby's dad and nothing you say will ever convince me otherwise, raven "best mom ever" branwen, unless my tumblr followers coerce me into it, which is possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 08:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16971114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowpool95/pseuds/Shadowpool95
Summary: The drawer I've chosen to store all my STRQ prompts and drabbles in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt-  
> hoata asked:  
> For the favourite quotes thing :) Summer: Since I’m gonna be out for a while, I’ve left you all a complimentary bowl of advice. Summer, picking one paper out of the bowl: For instance, “Qrow and Raven, stop fighting” just applies to everything.   
> -  
> Once again, set in STRQ’s Beacon days. Summer is getting lessons about SEWs and fairy tales from Oz, and she is always concerned about leaving her teammates on their own.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Summer told her team. She tried to keep the tiredness out of her voice the best she could. The three of them were starting to get suspicious of her meetings with the Headmaster, but she didn’t want to tell them just yet. Not until she knew more about what was going on herself. She had started coming up with different ways to distract them when she had to leave, though she saw this one as more of a necessity.  
  
“Since I’m going to be out for a while, I’ve left you all a complimentary bowl of advice.” She pointed to a ceramic bowl on the desk closest to the door.  
  
She got three almost identical confused looks in return.   
  
With a smile, Summer reached into the bowl and fished out a slip of paper at random. “For instance,” she said as she unfolded it, “ “Qrow and Raven, stop fighting” just applies to everything.”  
  
Taiyang tried to cover up an amused snort with his hand. Raven shot him a dirty look before turning it onto their team leader. This was their fourth year of school though, and Summer wasn’t phased by the show of hostility.  
  
“You know she’s right,” Qrow said to his sister, his tone colored with amusement.  
  
“We don’t fight that much,” Raven argued.  
  
Taiyang laughed. “You’re doing it right now.”  
  
As the bickering continued, Summer retreated from the room, small smile still on her face. She wouldn’t trade her team for the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt -  
> Anonymous asked:  
> my favourite quote is "summer: i know we dont always see eye to eye on things. raven: because you are too short"  
> -  
> Invicta-verse (Nobody Leaves, Nobody Dies AU) post-Beacon. (P.S. look who just made herself cry in less than 300 words hint: it’s me)

“Raven, could I- …talk to you?” The words sounded hesitant and weak to Summer’s own ears, but she stood her ground. She’s been trying to figure out a way to approach this conversation for weeks now. The two of them finally had a quiet moment to themselves on the back porch of Raven and Tai’s house.

Taiyang and Qrow were inside entertaining Yang, and Raven had taken the opportunity to sharpen and clean her sword. It’s been neglected for too long, and she, Tai, and Qrow had a mission in a few days.

“Sure,” Raven agreed. She didn’t look up, but years of being teammates and friends told Summer that it didn’t mean that Raven wasn’t giving her her full attention.

Summer took a deep breath. “I know we don’t always see eye to eye on things,” she started.

Raven cut her off. “Because you’re too short.” The joke was delivered in a humorless tone, but the dryness of it put Summer at ease immediately. Raven stopped running the whetstone down her blade and finally looked up at her friend. “What’s wrong?”

Summer smiled when she realized that the familiarity ran both ways. The two of them had been through a lot in the almost seven years they had known each other, and now you would never be able to tell that once there existed a frightened animosity between them. “Nothing,” she breathed, feeling silly now for her previous anxiety. “I just- Qrow and I-” Summer moved her hand to cradle her belly protectively. “We want to name you as the guardian of our baby. In case anything ever happens to us.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt -  
> Anonymous asked:  
> Tai: your future self is watching u right now through memories Qrow: not if u drink enough alcohol, take that u prying creep For the fav quote thing, please and thank you.  
> -  
> Listen. All i can say is that 1. That finale’s after-credits scene fucked me and my Phoenix feels up. And 2. This one got away from me real quick and apparently I’m at a point where “lighthearted” and “funny” cannot exist on their own. So here. Have some more feels.

“Your future self is watching you right now though memories.” Taiyang had to almost yell so that his voice could be heard over the loud din that filled the bar. The effort was worth it though, to see Qrow’s glazed-over eyes narrow as his brain tried to process exactly what he had said.

“Not if you drink enough alcohol!” Qrow finally shouted. He looked spasmodically pleased with himself, as only a drunk person can. He reached for one of the last two shots left in front of him and downed it, slamming the empty glass down next to the impressive pile of empty shot glasses to the side. “Take that you prying creep!”

Taiyang laughed and smacked his teammate on the shoulder. He had made a game out of seeing what dumb reasons he could come up with to get Qrow to take a shot. Fortunately, it didn’t take a whole lot of work on his part. Qrow was pretty willing to drink for just about any reason presented.

“You still have one more shot left, buddy!” Taiyang pointed out. He motioned toward the glass, but his hand was swatted away.

“No he doesn’t.” Summer suddenly appeared between them. She grabbed the drink off the table before her partner could take it and drank it herself. She set the glass down a lot more gently than Qrow had. “We’re leaving.”

Taiyang’s protest was lost in the noise around them. He looked at Qrow, hoping to get some back up, but Qrow was staring at Summer with a dopey, lopsided grin. “That was kinda hot,” he heard him say.

Summer rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Everything about the action screamed affection. Taiyang hadn’t even known that an eyeroll could be _that_ affectionate. Raven was completely right; either Summer and Qrow were idiots, or they were actually together but keeping it a secret for some reason.

“What a charmer,” Summer said to her partner. Taiyang watched her take Qrow’s hand and gently pull him off the barstool. Unsteady on his feet, Qrow immediately wrapped an arm around Summer’s shoulders.

Taiyang scoffed. Qrow could hold his alcohol better than almost anyone else he knew. There was no way that he was actually drunk enough to be that wobbly right now.

Someone pressed themselves up against his back while he was distracted with watching his teammates leave. He stiffened at first, but the familiar voice at his ear made him instantly relax, a smile spreading across his face. “Am I going to have to drag you out of here too?”

“Only if it means we can hold hands,” he replied, turning to face Raven.

Raven sighed but held out one of her hands for him to take. “You’re childish.”

Taiyang used their clasped hands to pull her into a chaste kiss. “But you still keep me around.”

Raven tugged him back in for a second kiss that wasn’t nearly as innocent as the first. “Only because the sex is good,” she claimed before taking a step away, leading him off the barstool and towards the door.

Outside of the bar, almost caught up with the rest of their team, Raven squeezed Taiyang’s hand without looking at him. Over the course of the past year, he had come to recognize it as her way of telling him the things that she was unsure how to express out loud. The fact that she was still holding his hand was enough for him, but the alcohol in his system made him bold and convinced him to lean towards her. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear, quiet enough so even in the silence of the night only she could hear it.

Raven turned to look at him, her red eyes washed out to a deep burgundy in the moonlight. It wasn’t the first time that he had said those words to her. “I don’t know what that means,” she responded, like she usually did. This time though, in the space between her reply and his quiet smile, Raven added a breath of words that he almost didn’t catch.

“But I think I’m figuring it out.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt -  
> Anonymous asked:  
> Summer: What’s our exit strategy? Taiyang: Our what? Qrow: Oh my God, we’re all going to die. Definitely one of my favorites  
> -  
> Better late than never, huh? I still have a few of these that I’m getting done as I get the free time to do them. Again, this is set in Invicta-verse, this time post graduation. Enjoy!

Crouching, Summer pressed her back up against a wall inside of the ruined house. Qrow and Taiyang were on either side of her, doing their best to stay below the window ledge and keep out of sight. The pair of Geists outside had them pinned.

“So,” Summer started, pushing herself up just enough to peek at the wreckage outside. “What’s our exit strategy?” The King Taijitu that had been originally attacking the town had been taken care of. It’s presence however had attracted more Grimm to the location on the outskirts of the kingdom. The two Geists currently searching for them were all that was left, but they had taken possession of enough rubble to form themselves each a Goliath-sized body that was giving the three of them heaps of trouble.

Taiyang shook his head, attempting to clear the ringing that was still piercing his skull. One of the Geists had thrown him into a building, and Summer wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t have a concussion. “Our what?”

Qrow sank to the floor and groaned. “Oh my god, we’re all going to die.”

Before Summer could tell him that they weren’t because they could do this, the shrill sound of a scroll ringing with an incoming call sliced through the relative quiet. She and Qrow glared at Taiyang as he fumbled to pull his scroll out of his pocket.

Summer peaked out over the window sill again as her teammate answered the call. The Geists had heard the ring and were heading their way.

“Raven!” Taiyang said with forced cheer. “How’s it going?”

Her response was significantly less chipper. “That’s funny, because I was just going to ask you the same thing. You guys said that you were going to be back tonight. It doesn’t look like you’re on an airship.”

“We… got held up?” Taiyang responded, drawing out the words and making it sound like a question. Something made a solid impact with the building they were taking cover in, showering them with plaster dust.

Summer glanced over to see Raven leveling Taiyang with an unamused glare over video chat. In that single look, Summer could see how concerned their teammate was for them, even if Raven was trying to hide it. They were all family now, after all. “I knew I should have gone with you guys,” Raven murmured.

Taiyang scoffed, and Qrow and Summer sighed simultaneously. The three of them knew this argument by heart. “Rae, you just had a baby a month and a half ago. Take care of our girl, we’ve got this one. Right guys?”

Summer and Qrow shared a look.

Raven spoke up before they could give her their reasurances. “Summer.”

Taiyang tilted his scroll towards their team leader.

“Today I dressed Yang in that dragon onesie you bought her,” Raven said. “If any of you three don’t come back in one piece, I’m not showing you the pictures.”

Summer grinned and grabbed the scroll out of Taiyang’s hands, exhaustion and danger momentarily forgotten. “You have to let me see those pictures.”

Raven smirked. “Then don’t die,” she responded in a clipped tone before disconnecting the call.

The building shook with another heavy impact as Summer was handing Taiyang his scroll back.

“She’s never going to let us go on a mission without her again,” Qrow commented as he watched Summer reload the dust cartridge on her rifle.

“We barely got her to let us go this time.” Summer looked at Taiyang. “How’s your head?”

He gave her a thumbs up. “Better, actually.”

Summer nodded. “Good.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. We’ve taken care of Geists before, guys. Just like that mission to the southern border in year three, remember?”

“Go for the face,” Qrow responded, pushing himself back up into a crouch. “Who’s running distraction?”

The three of them froze as a heavy footfall cracked the paved street right outside the window.

“I will,” Summer whispered with a grin. “Let’s do this fast, I have some pictures of my niece to see.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt -  
> “I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Summer slowly sat on the edge of his bed in their dorm room, so as not to startled him out of his sleep. She knew how jumpy the twins still were —even after three years of being around their teammates— and the last thing she wanted to do was wake him up. She just needed to hear him breathe for a little bit. Watch the rise and fall of his chest, reassure herself that her dream had been just that. A horrid, twisted dream. Her mind showing her images that weren’t real.

They were still fresh however, vivid scenes playing over and over again behind her eyes and she couldn’t seem to let them go. The thought of Qrow leaving her at all, let alone like _that_ , terrified her. She realized that she truly couldn’t lose him, and the thought had her scared to death. She hadn’t intended to get this close to anyone in such a short time, b since day one she and her partner understood each other in ways that she didn’t think were possible. The more time they spent together, the more they learned about each other, the closer they got. There was no turning away from this now.

“Summer?”

The groggy, whispered voice made her heart clench. Tears pricked her eyes but she looked toward the ceiling, willing them away.

She was better than this. She had to be.

A large, warm hand settled on her thigh, drawing her attention to slitted red eyes that were staring back at her with sleepy concern. The glistening in her already shining eyes caused Qrow to furrow his brow and attempt to blink the sleep out of his eyes. “Sunshine, what’s wrong?”

Summer tried to turn away from his searching gaze, but it turns out that she didn’t need to be looking at him for Qrow to make her heart ache.

The hand that was resting on her leg slowly pulled back so he could wrap his arm around her waist. Gently, as if afraid of hurting her, he pulled her towards him until Summer relented and pressed herself against his chest. He had himself propped up on his other elbow, the perfect height for her to tuck her face against the warm place right above his collarbone. Qrow turned his head and inhaled against her hair, like he needed to reassure himself that she was there too.

He didn’t say anything for a while, but slowly lowered himself back down, taking her with him. He pulled his blanket over her in an impressive one-handed feat, somehow keeping her tucked against him as close as possible.

Summer wasn’t crying in earnest, but the few tears that did escape were immediately soaked up by Qrow’s shirt. They were both laying on their sides now, her partner almost completely wrapped around her. Summer had a hand pressed against his chest over his heart, taking comfort in the steady thrumming she felt under her fingers. “I had a nightmare about you,” she finally admitted quietly, tilting her head up in the way that let her face press perfectly against his neck. “And I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Qrow rhythmically ran a hand up and down her back. “I’m okay,” he reassured, trying to imagine exactly what role he played in her nightmare.

“Don’t ever leave me,” Summer managed to get out through the shallow breaths that she was desperately trying to slow. Her words caught him off guard. His hand stilled briefly before his arms tightened around her and he pulled back enough to press his lips to her hair.

“I would never,” he said quickly, an automatic response. Then, quieter, he admitted, “I don’t think I could.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since I’m a useless piece of shit who can’t get her life together enough to write the next chapter to her story, have this completely unrelated thing I wrote while I was waiting for my roommate to get out of the shower.

“Uncle _qROW_!!”

Qrow barely had enough time to grab his glass off his desk before Ruby barreled through his office door and all but pounced on it. It wouldn’t be the first time she had spilled his drink, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last, but he was grading tests that he’d rather not return smelling like whisky.

“Look what came today!” Ruby squealed, brandishing a brown paper-wrapped box. “It’s the last part!”

Qrow grinned and downed the rest of his drink before getting up and setting the glass on top of a cabinet where he figured it’d be safe. Looking back at Ruby, hanging off his desk and waving the package around like he might not have seen it, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly. “Shouldn’t you be out doing what other thirteen year old girls do on a Saturday?” he goaded with another grin.

Ruby squealed and jumped off his desk, ignoring the jab. “Can we finish it, Uncle Qrow? Can we, can we, can we?! Pleeeeaaassseeee?”

The girl’s eyes were practically sparkling in her eagerness. She looked so much like her mother.

Qrow’s grin turned into a fond smile. “Sure, kiddo.” He ruffled her hair, earning him an amused scowl. “I need a break anyway. It’s still on the back table in the shop.”

Ruby let out another excited squeal before taking off in a burst of red petals, dashing through the open door that lead to the workshop. A loud clatter sounded not soon after, followed by a, “I’ll clean it up!” Qrow’s mouth twisted into a frown at the noise.

When Ruby first started at Signal, he had been appalled at how little she knew about fighting. Of course, he shouldn’t have expected Tai to have been able to mentor Ruby. His fighting style was all hard hits and brute force. Yang was definitely his daughter.

Ruby on the other hand was built more like Summer; meant for quick hits and nimble movements. Qrow made use of the technique as well, thanks in part to Summer herself, and knew he was more than capable of training Ruby. He wanted to, more than almost anything, but he had distanced himself from her life for a reason.

He had known that Signal was too close, but he couldn’t bare to be any farther. When Ruby started going to the academy, Qrow kept telling himself he would leave. To keep her safe. He would take the missions Ozpin kept offering.

Except next thing he knew, Ruby was asking him to be her mentor and what was he going to say? The dangers it would present, the very reason he couldn’t be a more prominent part of her life, made him reluctant to agree, but Ruby had inherited just as much of his stubbornness as she had Summer’s persuasiveness. A dangerous combination that soon had them in the gym training every evening.

Every stumble, fall, and scratch that he just _knew_ was his fault, Ruby bounced back from with an eager grin on her face, always ready for more. He didn’t know what to do. Now she was almost done building her weapon, and he couldn’t be more proud of her. Or more scared for her.

Another clatter brought him out of his thoughts. Qrow sighed and walked out to the shop, schooling his expression away from amusement when he saw Ruby. It didn’t fool her.

“Quit laughing, Uncle Qrow,” she demanded. The sound he had heard was her knocking over a barrel of wooden weapon replicas, meant as templates for students designing their own weapons. She had tried to pick all of them up at once, dropping a few and managing to catch them with a booted foot. Now she was balancing on one leg with no foreseeable path to take the wouldn’t end in all the wooden weapons falling to the floor anyway.

“I’m not laughing,” Qrow responded with as straight of a face as he could keep.

Ruby glared at him. “Not on the outside.”

He had to laugh at that.

With another hard stare, Ruby looked him in the eyes defiantly before completely letting go of the mock weapons and letting them crash to the floor.

When the noise died down, the two stared at each other for a moment before they both dissolved into laughter. Qrow could see so much of Summer in her daughter that it made his chest ache. Not all together a bad ache, but a pain that wouldn’t leave none the less.

“Go finish your weapon, pipsqueak,” he told her as soon as they managed to stop laughing. “I’ll pick these up.”

Ruby immediately brightened, squealing as she dashed to the table, this time at a semi-normal pace to avoid the workshop clutter.

Qrow’s frown found its way on his face again as soon as Ruby was preoccupied. His thoughts turned to Summer in the way they always did. She would know the right thing to do. Staying close to home made Ruby -and him- undeniably happy, but the cost would eventually be too great. This time it was a bunch of worn wooden sticks, next time it could be an entire cabinet falling on the girl.

 _If you were still alive, I wouldn’t have to decide,_ Qrow sighed quietly. They were supposed to have gone through this together. Now, he realized as he rightened the barrel and the wooden replicas, his life had become the guessing game that it was before he met Summer; he hadn’t been very good at it then, either.

“Uncle Qrow, she’s perfect.”

He was pulled from his thoughts with the clanking of gears and a soft _whoosh_. He turned to look at Ruby, his chest swelling with pride at the sight of her hugging the handle to a scythe that was easily twice as tall as she was.

 _Might as well go all the way_ , he had told her when they were still in the drawing phase.

“Now all it needs is a paint job,” he drawled lazily, like his mind wasn’t weighed down by his entire world.

Ruby’s eyes sparkled with her eagerness, but Qrow held his hand up, grin on his face. “Not so fast. You gotta leave something for you to do during class next week.”

The girl briefly flashed him her best puppy-dog eyes, a look almost identical to the one he used to fall prey to from her mother, but very quickly Ruby’s face was overtaken with a smile.

“I’ve figured out what I’m going to name it,” she told him proudly.

Qrow crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh yeah?”

Ruby looked her weapon up and down an nonchalantly as someone could with a huge grin plastered to her face. “Yep,” she responded, popping the ‘p’.

“Were you gonna let the rest of us know, or just keep it a secret?” Qrow prodded.

Ruby’s grin shifted into a soft smile as she turned to look at him. “Crescent Rose,” she told him, “after you and mom.”

Qrow tried to stomp down his internal panic. “After me and your mother?” He repeated. _If Tai had told her anything…_ He didn’t even finish the threat in his head. “Why’s that, pipsqueak?” he asked, hoping to whatever deity watching she hadn’t heard his voice waver.

Ruby’s smile grew, childish innocence guaranteeing her deafness to his pain. “Y'know, because your scythe is named Lunar Eclipse and, well, you trained me how to fight and helped me build mine. And Mom, well,” she paused and looked down at her feet, smile slowly sliding off her face. “I don’t really remember much about her, but it feels like she’s there sometimes. When we’re practicing.”

The ache in Qrow’s chest burned at her words, both with affection that she chose to name her weapon with him in mind -even if she didn’t fully understand the significance to him- and renewed pain at the loss and hurt they both felt.

Qrow wanted to help her, but he wasn’t sure exactly how. He excelled more proficiently at just making things worse. Still, the look on her face said he needed to try.

“Ruby, your mother loved you,” he started, but was already at a loss for words. “…so much,” he finished lamely, but forced himself to keep going as Ruby’s tear filled silver eyes rose to meet his gaze. “She would be very proud of how much you improved in only a year and a half.” _Not to mention that she wouldn’t have let you fall so far behind in the first place, if she were still here,_ he added silently in his head.

“Really?” Ruby asked him in a small voice, followed by a sniffle.

Qrow scratched the back of his neck a little awkwardly. “Of course, kiddo. I don’t say things just to hear myself talk.” He internally winced at his own gruff words, but they got a giggle out of Ruby so maybe he was actually getting something right.

Her next question surprised him though. “Do you think she’d like the weapon I picked?”

Qrow immediately felt his face break into a warm smile at memories of conversations before Ruby could even sit up on her own.

_I think she’s going to be a scythe wielder, just like her daddy._

_Nah, she takes more after her mother._

_Just you wait, Qrow Branwen. She’s inherited your stubbornness, she’s more like you than you think._

“I think she’d love it,” he told her honestly, before adding, “between you and me, the rest of my team at Beacon always thought my weapon was the coolest.”

Ruby smiled, her eyes no longer brimming with tears. “Uncle Qrow,” she said in mock scolding, though she looked just as curious as she always did when he brought up the school for Huntsmen.

Taking a deep breath, Qrow shed his emotions like he’s been doing for years now. “Alright, kid. It’s almost dinner time. Your dad is going to kill me if I keep you too late again.”

Ruby looked a little disappointed that he didn’t divulge any stories about Beacon this time, but after a little bit of unfamiliar fumbling she collapsed Crescent Rose into its carrying form and held it to her chest. “Can I take it home to show dad and Yang?” she asked imploringly, once again giving Qrow her solemn puppy-dog eyes.

Qrow chuckled. “Of course. It’s yours now, Ruby.”

Ruby squealed and leapt forward, hugging Qrow as tight as she could with her compacted scythe still in her grip. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Qrow coughed to hide the lump that had lodged itself in his throat, but bent down to hug her back. “You’d better take care of it,” he told her gruffly in lieu of a “you’re welcome”.

“I will!” Ruby said before pulling away. “I promise.” With that she hugged Crescent Rose to her chest again and took off out of the workshop.

Qrow smiled as a squeal of excitement echoed through the empty hallway before fading out. Once again his chest ached, wanting more than anything for a woman in a white cloak to be standing next to him.

And once again, all he had was an empty classroom and a heavy heart. “I’m doing my best,” he said out loud to the space. “Whatever that’s worth. …I hope it’s enough.”

As he made his way back to his office, Qrow’s scroll vibrated with an incoming message. With a sigh he pulled it out, already knowing what it was before he saw Ozpin’s name pop up on the screen.

 _Mission in Mistral_ was on the subject line, but Qrow closed his scroll without reading it. “Just give me a few more months, Oz,” he mumbled. He needed to leave, for Ruby’s sake, but he couldn’t leave his daughter quite yet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys want to know what state I live in?
> 
> . . . Denial ( •_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)
> 
> (set after the Fall of Beacon and Ruby waking up)

Taiyang was still furious with Qrow. He’s been furious with him for going on thirteen years. Over that time it’s changed from a burning, ravaging kind of furious that made him unable to even look at his former teammate, to a simmering, exhausted kind of furious that at least let them coexist in the same house while Yang and Ruby healed.

He hated how easy it was for them to fall into a routine that had been natural for them for a large chunk of their lives. Waking up, making food, keeping the place livable and themselves together; it almost felt like they were back in a time before everything went wrong.

The thing that Taiyang hated the most though was the level of habitual concern he felt when he found Qrow sitting in the living room, staring at a half empty glass of water on the coffee table. Subtly he looked around for the man’s flask, but it wasn’t in sight. He wished that he didn’t know what it meant, and that he didn’t care so much, but furious or not he and Qrow had been as close as brothers once upon a time.

“When are you leaving?” He asked Qrow quietly, so his voice wouldn’t carry up the stairs to the girls’ rooms. He knew that Qrow leaving would upset Ruby, same as it always did when he left. Taiyang leaned back against the door frame, crossing his arms and staring at his shoes. He was trying his best for “nonchalance”, but mad or not it had felt good to have even just half his old team under the same roof.

“Whenever Ruby takes off,” Qrow answered just as quietly. His voice held no hesitation, and once Tai managed to convince himself to meet the dull red gaze of his former best friend, he noticed a sharp clarity that Qrow only ever afforded one person anymore.

“Ruby?” Taiyang repeated. “What do you mean, ‘take off’?”

Qrow chuckled darkly. “Come on, Tai. She’s got too much of both me and Summer in her to just sit here when she knows that people elsewhere need help.”

Taiyang gave him a hard stare. “I doubt she would leave without saying anything,” he argued.

Qrow’s return glare was withering. “It runs in the family,” he replied dryly before drinking the rest of the water in his glass. “Plus it’s exactly what I would do,” he tacked on as an afterthought. “You’re always telling me how much she takes after her father.”

Those last words were sarcastic and self-deprecating. Taiyang had known from the moment that Qrow returned alone from that fateful mission thirteen years ago that the man would never get over his partner’s death. There had been a brief hope that Ruby would be enough to keep him afloat, but Qrow had always been sinking into a pit of self-loathing. Summer had been the only one who was strong enough to pull him back out. With her gone, trusting himself to be so close to his own daughter was so far off the table that Taiyang hadn’t even known where to begin arguing his point.

Things were working out more or less, on some absolutely fucked up level, but over the years Tai had tried to be understanding as “Uncle Qrow” spent time with “both” of his nieces. He didn’t get in the way of Qrow teaching Ruby to fight. Or the late nights playing video games when Qrow got back from whatever far away mission he took when he felt like things were getting to be too much.

No, Taiyang kept his mouth shut. For the most part. But every once in a while, like right now, he couldn’t help but let the question that’s been on his mind for the better part of thirteen years slip out and hang in the air.

“So when are you going to tell her?”

Qrow sighed and stood up, walking away from the conversation like he did every time Taiyang brought the subject up. But the blond wasn’t going to let him get away this time.

“I’m serious, Qrow,” he demanded as he followed him into the kitchen. “What are you afraid of?”

Qrow placed his glass in the sink carefully, giving the task his full attention so he didn’t have to spare as much toward Tai. “I fuck everything up,” he replied, staring tiredly down at the empty glass. “It’s what I do.”

Taiyang scoffed.“That girl adores you. There is no way you could mess this up.”

Qrow let out a harsh laugh as he whirled around to glare at the man he used to call his best friend. “Yeah? What am I going to say? 'Hey Ruby, sorry but I’ve been lying to you for your entire life’?” He let out a deep breath, the fire gone from his gaze and his stance as quickly as it has ignited. “Not only would I be destroying the perfect image she has of her family,” he continued, a tired bitterness entering his tone, “but she’d forever be stuck with me as a father. I can’t do that to the kid.”

Taiyang wanted to scream at him for how stupid he was being. He had never been able to talk sense into Qrow, not once the entire time they had known each other, but he wanted to strangle it into him at that moment. “How do you know that she’ll react like that?” He countered angrily, consciously keeping his voice quiet. “Summer _loved you_ , Qrow. She saw the good you could do before anyone else did. If she could see you right now, I _know_ she’d be disappointed.”

Qrow’s eyes flashed heatedly once again, but he didn’t rise to the bait.

“Summer loved you,” Taiyang repeated when it was clear that Qrow wasn’t going to respond. “For all your strengths, and for all your flaws. What makes you think her daughter won’t, too?”

Qrow scoffed and turned away from Tai, who pretended not to notice him hastily swipe at his face to brush away tears. “When Ruby leaves, I’m going to tail her,” he said instead of answering Taiyang’s question. “Keep her out of trouble as much as I can. You have Yang to take care of, so I’ll look after Ruby.”

“Like a father should,” Tai challenged.

Qrow took a deep breath, but once again didn’t respond. The silence between the two men stretched until it felt like a gaping canyon. Taiyang remembered with an ache in his chest all the nights he, Qrow, Raven, and Summer stayed up talking about absolute nonsense, just to talk. That lifetime seemed so far away at this moment.

Taiyang just wanted his team whole again.

“I hope you tell her before it’s too late,” Tai finally said, conceding defeat. He was too tired to do anything else. “I’d hate to see this family any more broken than it already is.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to the way that my most recent writing has tugged at the feels, I’m by no means an angst writer. I write hella lot of fluff, and as much as @dawnstar13 wishes to change that, she cannot. (Though that challenge is still open if she wants to keep trying ;) ) Even with an angsty prompt like this one-
> 
> “From the day we met, I knew I’d hurt you eventually.”
> 
> -I somehow manage to ‘ruin it’.

The tension that hung in the air was suffocating.

“You can’t do this,” Taiyang practically pleaded. “We’ve made a life for ourselves here, Rae. You’re going to destroy that!”

Raven leveled him with a cold stare. “Nothing you can say will change what has to happen.”

“You have a choice!” Taiyang tried, but Raven was already shaking her head.

“From the day we met, I knew I’d hurt you eventually.” She closed her eyes and forced out a stabilizing breath. “This is your own fault, I told you to walk away.”

Taiyang slowly reached forward, and Raven’s eyes snapped back open to track the movement. Neither said a word as they waited for the other to do something.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Qrow groaned, dropping his head back against the back of the couch. “You two _always do this_. Could you just finish your turn already? This game is going to last forever.”

Next to him, Summer laughed. “Yeah, Tai. She has hotels on those spaces. Just pay up.”

Taiyang gave the pair an imploring look, attempting to gain sympathy. “But then I’ll have no money left.”

“Yeah, and then you lose,” Raven interjected unapologetically. “That’s how monopoly works.”

Taiyang gave in with a pout and finished collecting the game’s cash that sat in front of him, tossing it unceremoniously on top of Raven’s pile. “Cheater,” he accused half-heartedly.

“Sore loser,” Raven shot back with a smug smirk.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _@another-coffee-addict_ my hand slipped

Qrow froze at the bottom of the stairs. His mind was still clouded with sleep this early in the morning; it took him a moment to recognize the confusion he felt, and another to realize why he felt it.  
  
Drowsy haze rapidly evaporating, Qrow vividly recalled the conversation he had with Raven last night. How the life they now had with their team wasn’t the one she had pictured for herself. That she had always intended to go back to the Tribe, how she belonged there because it was the only life she really knew.  
  
He remembered watching Raven walk out the door, leaving her husband, daughter, and best friend all sleeping peacefully in their beds upstairs while he stood in the doorway, helpless. So he felt justified in his confusion at seeing his twin sitting on the couch, Yang in her arms.  
  
“I thought you were leaving,” he said bluntly, only just barely thinking to keep quite. With his luck, Summer or Tai could be up already and he didn’t want them to overhear.  
  
Raven was lounging sideways on the sofa, her back against one of the arms and her legs stretched out over the cushions. Yang was seated in her lap, reaching towards her mother’s face and spouting baby gibberish with a toothless grin. Raven didn’t look at Qrow, keeping her perplexed expression focused on Yang. “I was.”   
  
She said the words slowly, the way she does when she’s thinking hard and trying to figure something out. Qrow noticed how her arms were carefully holding Yang, like his sister was afraid that her daughter would shatter if she moved too abruptly. Still, Raven slowly moved one of her hands in front of Yang’s face so that she could grab it. For someone who typically kept all of her emotions buried, Qrow easily recognized the surprise that registered on Raven’s face at the strength behind Yang’s grip. She looked a little shaken, and was moving with the care of someone who was unsure of exactly what she was doing.  
  
With a pang he realized that this was the first time he had seen Raven voluntarily interact with Yang in this capacity. He wasn’t sure if he should embrace the hope blooming in his chest or smother it. “What made you change your mind?” he asked carefully. His sister was never one to shift her decisions easily.  
  
Raven kept her attention on her daughter for a while. The silence settling in the room felt heavy. It made Qrow more than a little nervous, but he didn’t try to pressure an answer out of her. He and his sister had been through a lot in their lifetime so far, somehow managing to stick together through all of it. Last night when he thought that she would leave forever, his heart felt like it was breaking not only for him, but for Taiyang and Summer and little Yang, and the life they had somehow made with them.  
  
Raven finally turned her gaze to him. “I couldn’t disappoint Summer,” she said quietly. At his confused look, she added, “We were going to take Yang into Vale today. I can’t do that if I’m not here.” The words held a little bit of her signature ‘it’s not my idea of fun’ tone, but she didn’t actually complain.   
  
It didn’t clear up any of Qrow’s confusion. Not really. He was still puzzled about why she changed her mind. Why she suddenly didn’t want to abandon something she hadn’t wanted in the first place.  
  
“I didn’t even get off of Patch.” She spoke without prompting, seeming to be able to read his mind. “I got to the docks and for some reason I suddenly thought about all the times in Beacon when we joked about disappointing Summer, even though she claimed that we could never truly disappoint her. I knew that what I was doing this time would, though. Then I thought about how it wouldn’t just be her. I would be disappointing Tai and you and- …Yang.” She breathed out her daughter’s name like she was uncertain about the feel of it passing her lips. “I’m not the same person I was when we were still in the Tribe,” she added, quiet. Like she wasn’t sure if she should be happy about it or not. “Neither of us are.”  
  
Yang chose that moment to decide that she was going to use her grip on Raven’s hand as leverage to stand, something she’s been doing more and more in the last few weeks. She got up, but her chubby legs still haven’t quite figured out how to help her gain her balance. Almost immediately she fell forward against Raven, who brought her hands to Yang’s sides protectively.  
  
The fear the flashed briefly across his sister’s face was erased with a genuine smile as Yang raised a hand to gently pat her mother’s cheek, once again babbling baby nonsense. Qrow smiled as well and cleared his throat. “Y’know,” he said, his tone colored with relief, “you don’t have to say that like it’s a bad thing.”


	10. Hummingbird Week (2018) Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 - A Moment

He never thought that he could feel so _warm_.

Not on the outside. Outside, the cold tile floor stung his bare feet, and the early morning air somehow managed to get into the house despite the tightly shut windows. Just his luck, Qrow supposed, though the usual melancholy at the thought was overtaken quickly by the ball of fire in his chest. On the inside.

The _warmth_.

He thought that maybe this was what some people called happiness. _Real_ happiness.

Qrow leaned back against the countertop, watching Summer reach into the upper cabinet next to the stove. She was practically swimming in his rumpled black tshirt, her red hair tossed up into a messy bun that maybe wasn’t actually as adorable as he found it.

“Summer.” Her name leaving his own lips caused a current to race through his nerves, starting somewhere around his heart and licking through the rest of his body like flames.

Summer turned her head enough that she could catch his eye. She gave him a dazzling smile, small and brief, before turning back to the stove. “Just a moment, Qrow,” she said, tone light and casual, “then I’m all yours.” Like she didn’t know that just a few words from her could unravel –has unravelled– everything he thought he was.

Everything he had been, he realized. It lay in tatters at his feet, a fleeting moment in time that he was all too eager to forget and replace.

Just a moment, she said, and every moment that led to this point, every moment that recreated who he was, was suddenly pressing down on him from all sides. He was suffocating in them.

_Silver eyes staring into his._

_A feisty soul he was not expecting._

_He couldn’t make excuses, turning into he didn’t want to make excuses._

_What began as friendly gestures, shifting into affectionate caresses._

Affection slowly melted into something real. Something almost tangible. Something he wanted to hold onto and never lose.

And all it took was a handful of moments.

A lifetime of moments.

Five years of moments, that somehow led to warm hands pulling him back into this one.

Summer’s eyes were shining, glittering in the soft morning light that found its way through the kitchen window. She was in front of him now, looking up at him with curiosity. “You were far away,” she told him in that tone that said he could keep his secrets if he wanted to.

Her hands slid down his bare arms, _burning_ as they drew the warmth that sat inside him to the surface, and Qrow discovered that he didn’t want to keep any secrets.

“I was wondering which moment made you want to stay,” he said, the unspoken ‘ _with me_ ’ hanging clearly in the space between them.

Summer’s answering smile blazed in her eyes, like it started there and was only mirrored on her lips. She stood on her tiptoes, leaning into his chest for balance as she kissed him.

Once.

Twice.

“This one,” she murmured, her breath ghosting over his soul.

Another kiss.

“And every moment that comes after.”


	11. Hummingbird Week (2018) Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 - Seasons

“I told you to wear a jacket.”

Qrow mimicked her words back at her but they completely lost their effect, spoken from under a mountain of blankets and through a stuffy nose.

Summer crossed her arms over her chest, somehow managing to keep the stern look on her face for all of thirty seconds before a sympathetic sigh escaped and softened her expression. “Qrow, I’m serious. Now you’re sick, you know that you’re going to get your sister sick.” Though they had been in Vale for over two years now, the twins still occasionally caught a cold or stomach bug that their immune systems weren’t used to. Summer reached forward and brushed the hair off of his forehead so she could place her palm against it.

Qrow closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, his skin too warm to be healthy.

“And it’s flu season,” Summer continued. “The last thing this school needs is the flu going around.” She withdrew her hand --earning a noise in protest from Qrow-- and moved toward the bathroom. “And if you think that I’m letting you come on Monday’s guided mission, then you have another thing coming,” she added loud enough for him to hear as she rummaged through the medicine cabinet. She knew they had some cold medicine somewhere.

Qrow’s response was a groan in protest that turned into a coughing fit.

Summer walked out of the bathroom with a couple of pills and a glass of water. Her concern was written on her face at the sight of her partner sitting up and hunched over. She sat on the edge of the bed and offered him the water, but Qrow stubbornly didn't take it. 

With a patient sigh, Summer waited until his coughing subsided before holding up the pills as well. “Here. This will help with your fever.”

Qrow shook his head, but immediately squeezed his eyes shut and brought his hands up to cradle his face. “Don’t need it,” he argued weakly.

Summer didn't lower her hands. “Yes you do,” she argued back, voice light. “It’ll make you feel better.” The debate never changed.

After a minute or two, Qrow let out a huff and a sniffle before removing his hands from his face and taking the pills. He took a few sips of water before he handed back the glass, and Summer set it on the bedside table.

“I don’t feel better,” Qrow complained petulantly, missing the eyeroll directed at him as he laid back down.

Summer made to stand up, but a pair of red eyes kept her in place with a quiet stare.  _ Stay _ , it said. “You need to rest, Qrow,” she responded to his unspoken plea, even as she adjusted her position to lean back against the headboard of his bed.

With a shaky lack of coordination, Qrow threw his blanket and an arm over Summer’s legs, pulling himself up until his head was resting in her lap. “My throat hurts,” he whined.

Summer tucked the blanket around Qrow’s shoulders. “It would hurt less if you stopped talking.” Her words were chastising but soft. She ran her fingers through his hair in slow, soothing strokes. “Go to sleep.”

A scratchy, argumentative noise was the only response she got, but Qrow at least closed his eyes. 

Summer continued to card her fingers through her partner’s hair, turning her head to gaze out the window. Tiny, sparse snowflakes were melting against the glass, and the sight made Summer shake her head. The seasons hadn’t changed quite yet, but her entire team was just stubborn enough to ignore her forewarning. She wasn’t sure where Raven and Tai had snuck off to, but she was sure they weren’t prepared for snow this close to Spring.

“We’re going to have to cancel our mission on monday,” she mused out loud. Turning back to look down at Qrow, she added, “You’re going to get all of us sick.”

“Wont,” Qrow mumbled back, “m’jus lucky.”

A small smile curved Summer’s lips. “You’re  _ lucky _ that you all have a leader that puts up with the hard-headed tenacity of her team.”

Qrow let out a single, pitiful cough. “Can’t be mad, m’dying.”

“You’re a drama queen with a cold,” Summer teased, “you’re not dying. Now get some sleep.”

The arm that Qrow had settled over her legs tightened its grip, like he still had the strength in his current condition to physically keep her there. “Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere, you big baby.”


	12. Hummingbird Week (2018) Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 - Misfortune

Qrow held the door open for his partner. She looked up at him with a smile that almost stopped his heart; he knew that he was in trouble. The cool night air was a relief on their flushed skin, rapidly ridding them of the suffocating heat of the club while also clearing Qrow’s head.

If only briefly.

He watched Summer draw in a deep breath as a chilled breeze gently tugged at her hair. She smiled, despite the goosebumps that covered her bare shoulders, and Qrow found himself wishing that he had brought a jacket that he could give her.

With their second year at Beacon successfully behind them, a carefree night out had been well deserved. Tai jumped at the chance to suggest a new dance club that had just opened a week ago, and though Qrow protested, everyone else thought it was a good idea.

Qrow pushed his shirtsleeves up a little higher before shoving his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. He felt a little out of place in normal clothes, used to the familiar fit of his combat outfit, but a club was different enough from the usual bar they went to that they all decided to put a little more effort into their appearance. Raven had even somehow managed to convince Summer to leave her cloak behind, which left the simple silver dress she wore in plain sight. The strapless design and knee-length hem showed more of his partner than Qrow was used to seeing, and he found that he had to force his gaze away from her more than a few times throughout the night.

It hadn’t taken long for Qrow to have a change of heart and decide that Taiyang’s suggestion hadn’t been _that_ bad.

Qrow shortened his stride so Summer wouldn’t have to jog to keep up with him in the strappy heels she had on -how his sister had convinced her to wear those was a mystery in itself. A teasing remark about Summer’s height leapt to the tip of his tongue as she settled in step beside him, something that he knew would start up their easy banter and break up the quiet that was starting to make him fidget.

But the words died on his lips.

Summer looked up at him with a soft smile that made him feel special, and also just like he just got punched in the stomach. Qrow looked at the ground in front of his feet, his cheeks burning despite the late spring chill. His reactions to his partner doing the simplest things were getting concerning.

“You- you look good,” he stumbled out, still not looking at her. Or rather, _trying_ to not look at her. A quiet huff of laughter immediately melted his resolve and drew his gaze back without him actually deciding that it would.

Summer’s nose was wrinkled, her smile twisted into something disbelieving. It was cute, and Qrow Branwen never used the word cute. “I can’t believe your sister got me to wear this,” she said though, instead of disputing his words.

 _Neither can I_ , Qrow wanted to say, but he cleared his throat and decided against it. “How did she manage that?” he asked instead, voice a bit more steady.

It was Summer’s turn to blush and look away, and the sight once again stole Qrow’s ability to talk. “She thinks she’s being sneaky about it,” Summer said, hiding her face behind her hair.

Qrow had no idea what that meant, or even if she meant it as an answer to his question. He knew that Raven was up to something; his sister was _always_ up to something. What agenda she could have that flustered Summer this much however was beyond him, and he didn’t know whether or not he should ask his partner to elaborate.

The silence stretched, and Qrow opened his mouth to ask, to say something to interrupt the silence, but an audible snap cut off his words. Summer stumbled forward with a squeak, and Qrow’s hands were out of his pockets and reaching out to catch her before he knew what had tripped her up.

She gripped his forearm to steady herself, her touch like lightning against his skin. “Damn shoes,” she cursed under her breath, and suddenly she was sliding a hand down his arm to lace their fingers together, using him for balance as she bent down to take off her strappy silver shoes.

Qrow barely heard her words. Her bare palm against his _burned,_ stealing the breath from his lungs. An odd sense of _finally_ pulsed through his head, and he never wanted to let go. Reeling over the perfect fit of Summer’s hand in his, it took Qrow a light-headed moment to realize exactly why Summer was taking her shoes off.

“I hate wearing these,” Summer scowled, drawing his attention to the shoes. “I don’t know why I let Raven talk me into it. When we get back, I’m going to throw them at her _head_.”

The loud snap had been one of the heels breaking off, and any ecstasy that Qrow felt from Summer’s touch was immediately washed away by a wave of guilt. She was lucky that she didn’t break her ankle as well, no thanks to him. “I’m sorry,” he automatically apologized, already loosening his hold on Summer’s hand. Who was he kidding? Thinking that he could get this close to someone without his semblance screwing everything up? Putting his partner in danger?

The feeling of Summer squeezing his hand, firmly keeping hold of him, surprised him enough to stop the rest of his apology from tumbling out. She didn’t say anything until he turned his head back to her, her hard stare holding him in place. “Stop it.”

Two words, but they pierced his heart like they always did. This was a familiar dance for them, and he wished that it wasn’t.

“Your semblance is not responsible for every bad thing that happens in the world,” she continued.

He opened his mouth to protest.

“ _And even if it is_ ,” Summer cut him off in a tone that said that she didn’t believe it, “I don’t blame you. It was just a shoe, Qrow.”

Summer squeezed his hand again, tugging him forward to continue their way toward the airbus station. She still hadn’t let go. Qrow slowly relented and squeezed back. “What if it’s worse next time?” he asked, voice dejected and quiet.

Summer made a vague gesture with the hand holding her shoes, still refusing to let go of his hand with the other. “What if it’s not?”

A war was raging in his head, between the warm feeling caused by her words and touch, and the burning shame his semblance left in him. She made it sound so easy. What if it’s not worse?

_Yeah, okay. And what if your semblance just decides to never bother you again?_

“I don’t blame you, Qrow,” Summer repeated quietly. He could hear in her voice that she was being honest, she really didn’t blame him. Though it didn’t matter; he blamed himself enough for both of them.

As soon as the idea entered his mind, he angrily pushed it away. It _did_ matter. This was Summer. His partner. She didn’t blame him. She had _faith_ in him. She _trusted_ him. She wanted to stick around, even knowing what he was capable of.

She was holding his hand, and he might like her a little bit more than he should.

Qrow took a deep breath, feeling a lot like he was bracing himself. He squeezed Summer’s hand again, enjoying the fact that it was a thing he could do. “Okay,” he said in a small voice, afraid that if he spoke too loud the universe would jump at the chance to prove him wrong. He took another deep breath before adding, “what if it’s not worse next time.”

The smile that his words earned him made him feel like he was in the clouds.


	13. Hummingbird Week (2018) Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 - Mission

Summer woke with a start, her heart pounding fast against her sore rib cage. Almost every muscle in her body hurt. Her eyes felt heavy and itched as she forced them open. Still groggy with exhaustion, Summer drew in a few deep breaths in attempt to ground herself.

Her surroundings wen’t familiar, and the soft bed she was laying on didn’t quite feel right, but she drew comfort from the warm arm draped over her stomach. Summer rolled over to snuggle against Qrow’s chest, movements stiff and slow.

Qrow’s arms unconsciously tightened around her, an easy intimacy that _was_ familiar. It let Summer relax further and allowed the finer points of yesterday’s disaster of a mission to sluggishly re-enter her mind.

She groaned quietly as she remembered her back making contact with a solid brick wall towards the end of the fight. Her aura had been very nearly depleted by that point, and explained her full-body ache. They had managed to take out the Grimm they were sent here to deal with after that, but the battle had taken a lot more out of them than STRQ had anticipated. The four of them had returned to their hotel rooms, showered, and passed out before the sun had even fully set.

Judging by the weak light filtering through the room’s curtains, it was now well past dawn. They were supposed to catch an airship back to Patch at noon, but Summer couldn’t summon the will to drag herself out of bed to get ready to leave.

“Tai went down to the desk and rented the rooms for another night,” Qrow murmured blearily, apparently awake. His grip around her once again tightened, though it still remained loose enough to avoid putting pressure on the most sore spots.

Summer glanced over at the closed door that separated their room from Raven and Taiyang’s. Their teammates had to be even more sore than she was; an Ursa had done its best to turn Tai into its chew toy, so of course Raven had attempted to take on the entire pack of them by herself. Luckily she and Qrow weren’t far away when the fight started, because even Raven would have had a hard time facing a dozen Ursa by herself.

Summer huffed ruefully. Even after four years of school and two years of missions in the real world, STRQ still held onto the monotra of ‘act first, ask questions later’. Judging by her recent acquaintance with the side of a building, she wasn’t any less guilty. It was really something that she should have worked with her teammates on more.

This botched mission just proved that even after six years of being a leader, still still had a lot to learn.

Qrow sighed, his breath warming the top of her head, causing Summer’s focus to slip away from her train of thought. “You’re thinking too much,” he complained. “Go back to sleep.”

Distracted, Summer closed her eyes and curled back into Qrow’s embrace. “I was supposed to meet Ozpin this evening,” she mumbled, voice muffled against Qrow’s shirt. “He said he found a lead.”

“Talk to him tomorrow then.”

“What if it’s important?”

“Then it will be just as important tomorrow.”

Summer smiled at his flawed logic, releasing an amused breath instead of a full laugh. She really was tired, and sleep would replenish her teammates’ auras faster than being awake and traveling. They had learned that lesson the hard way. “Maybe you’re right.”

Qrow huffed, feigning offense. “You know, that actually happens a lot. I don’t know why you always act so surprised.”

Summer opened her eyes again, muscles protesting as she pulled away and propped herself up on her elbow. Tired though she was, she recognized the mocking in his tone.

But there was no mocking in the way that Qrow looked up at her, his gaze half-lidded. Drowsy. Adorable in a way that was entirely unfair when she felt as bruised and rumpled as she did.

Whatever she had been ready to say was forgotten. “I love you,” Summer breathed out instead, surprising herself. It wasn’t by any means the first time that she told him how she felt, and though he had yet to say the words back, he also hasn’t run off. Which was good, because Summer knew that each ‘I love you’ was far from her last.

A torrent of emotions swept through Qrow’s eyes as he stared up at her. An eternity passed by before he blinked them back out of sight and pulled her against his chest with a gruff, “I’d love if you would go back to sleep.”

Summer hid her smile against his shirt, the thick emotion in his voice a better response than any three words could ever be. The shiver that ran down her spine pulled at her abused muscles, reminding her of the bone-aching exhaustion that was keeping them in bed. Summer yawned and pressed herself further against Qrow, humming a contented note when his hand began slowly rubbing circles into her lower back.

The room was pleasantly warm and quiet, a combination that very quickly tugged Summer’s tired mind towards sleep. She pushed thoughts of the mission and her team out of her head for now; there would be plenty of time to worry about them both when they actually headed home.

After a while, Qrow’s soothing hand on her back gradually slowed to a stop. She thought that he had fallen back asleep, until the quiet was interrupted by a whispered, “I love you, too.”

A jolt of elation sparked in her chest, but Summer only had the energy to twitch her fingers against Qrow’s abdomen in response before sleep completely dragged her under.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for myself a while ago just for fun. I happened to come across it today and y’know what? It’s not the total garbage I had originally thought it was. This takes place somewhere towards the end-ish of year two at Beacon. STRQ is at a karaoke bar. Very much hummingbird / flown north. Enjoy <3

Summer returned to their table after her song ended and the cheers died down, breathless and smiling brightly. Her cheeks were stained red from the exhilaration and the alcohol. She ducked her head a bit at the stunned looks from her teammates, but with her cloak thrown over her arm she had nowhere to hide. “So how did I do?” She asked them when no one immediately said anything.

Tai was the first to break the silence. “Holy shit! I didn’t know you could sing like tHAT!”

“I didn’t know you could /move/ like that,” Raven added, fanning herself with her hand for comic effect.

Summer blushed deeper at the praise. She then turned her silver eyes to her partner. They were practically glowing in the bar’s neon lights, and Qrow was mesmerized by them and everything else that had to do with the girl standing before him. Tai had been right. He really was fucked.

When a few quick moments passed by with no response from him, Summer bit her lip and fiddled with her cloak as she tried to righten it to put it back on.

“I think you broke my brother,” Raven said in her ear, just loud enough for the shorter girl to hear over the din of the bar as she clasped her cloak around her shoulders.

Summer laughed at that, a nice open laugh that shook Qrow out of his stupor. He really liked that laugh.

In a snap decision, Qrow stood up, a hand automatically reaching forward to prevent Summer from pulling her hood up and covering her face. He didn’t want to stop looking at her in just that moment.

Summer froze, startled, but the look of absolute awe that shone briefly on his face before disappearing behind her partner’s usual suave mask made her heart flutter. There was a brief flicker in her mind, a faint ’ _don’t go down this road_ ’ notion, but the alcohol made her brain fuzzy and for the life of her Summer couldn’t remember why exactly she didn’t want to be feeling these feelings.

“Want to go for a walk, Sunshine?” Qrow asked her, stepping close in the pretense of the noisy atmosphere.

Summer shivered, blaming it on the cooling sweat coating her body. The darkening in his brilliant red eyes egged her on, giving her confidence. “Where?” She asked innocently, though her expression was pure coy.

“Anywhere but here,” Qrow replied, his lips all but brushing against the shell of her ear. “Unless that alcohol has turned you into an exhibitionist as well as a singer.”

Summer pulled away from him, practically dancing. Her cheeks were once again blazing, but her eyes were shinning. “I guess that you’re just going to have to find that out,” she told him loud enough for the others to hear.

Taiyang looked confused. “Find what out?” He asked as all three of them stared after Summer as she weaved her way toward the front door of the bar.

Raven snickered as Qrow grabbed his coat and downed the rest of his drink in one swig, throwing Tai a wink before following Summer towards the door.

“She is going to eat him alive,” Raven scoffed, taking one of the few shots left in the middle of the table.

Taiyang watched his teammates leave. “You think so?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Even drunk, Summer’s not going to be one of Qrow’s usual ‘conquests’. She’s going to make him wait, until-” She paused, then chuckled to herself. “Well, I was going to say 'until he’s fallen for her,’ but I’ve never seen my brother so invested in another person before.”

Taiyang glanced at her, curious. “Really? I mean, you think she’ll keep his attention?”

“Maybe. It’d be hilarious to see my brother absolutely whipped, at the very least.” Raven shrugged then, suddenly acting like she didn’t care. “Hope it doesn’t go too sour.”

Tai sighed, though his face held a small smile. He knew that Raven cared about her teammates. Somewhere deep down. “I’m really glad that you’re talking to me again,” he said to her to change the topic she no longer wanted to be on.

Raven pushed her now empty glass toward him. “Buy me another drink and I’ll see if I’m going to keep it up.”

 

Outside, Qrow stopped in the doorway, frozen by the sight of Summer staring up at the moon. She was in the middle of a gravel lot, her cloak was askew, and she was swaying on her feet just slightly, but all Qrow could see was the ethereal way the slight breeze blew her hair back from her face. Her smile, her eyes, the cocky look she shot at him when she caught him staring, it all made his chest warm and fluttery in the most amazing, unfamiliar way.

“What’re you looking at, Birdbrain?” She called to him, and he was immediately reminded of the intense fire that her small stature hid from the world. He looked forward to getting more acquainted with it.

“A goddess I’m not worthy to be in the presence of, I’m sure,” he bantered back, though his words were husky and held none of the usual heat that their debates had.

This heat was different.

“I bet you use that line on all the ladies,” she countered, her voice turning wistful and almost sad.

Her tone brought him up short. Qrow couldn’t imagine what had caused the sudden change, but before he could form a response, Summer was once again looking at the moon.

“How does the moon make you feel?”

Qrow let out a groan. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those philosophical drunks,” he teased her.

His words and tone drew out a smile in their familiarity, but they didn’t keep her attention. “It makes me feel sad,” she told him honestly.

She started walking out of the bar’s parking lot, and Qrow could do nothing but follow. He was curious if she was going anywhere with this train of thought. “Why sad?” He prompted, slowly forgetting the real reason he had wanted to leave the bar with her. He could forget the entire wold when he was next to her.

Summer sighed. “It’s up in the sky all by itself, night after night with no company.” She reached out her hand and twined her fingers with his, like it was a natural thing for them to do.

Qrow felt a warm tingle race from their joined hands, up his arm, and to his chest. He felt light, and briefly wondered if he was having a heart attack. “With all those stars hanging around? Nah.” He did his best to keep track of the conversation, the warmth igniting in his chest, and their surroundings. He wasn’t the best companion to have when wandering around a city in the middle of the night, but the firm grip on his hand said that Summer didn’t mind.

“But they never get too close,” Summer argued lightly, in that way that a only contented drunk person can. “He’s surrounded by all the company in the world, but he’s still lonely.”

Qrow smirked. “What about eclipses?” He asked, sure that he could finally win an argument with Summer now that she was inebriated. “Sometimes the sun comes by to keep the moon company for a short while.” He cast her a sideways glance, a confident smirk, but of course she surprised him. She never stopped surprising him.

“Is that what this is?” Her words were sincere. Searching. Never accusing, not to him. “A brief moment of real company that’ll happen every so often?” Though she only offered him the briefest of looks, he caught a glance at the emotions her sober mind had yet to let her voice. It pierced him deep into his chest in a way nothing else ever had. He felt the dam that he had been desperately scrambling to keep up finally break, and words were falling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“No. I mean, that’s not- I couldn’t- _wouldn’t_ … ever do that to you.” Qrow took a deep breath and stopped walking, gently pulling Summer to turn and face him. The pain he felt in his chest eased slightly when she met his eyes, and he hoped to whatever deity that was up there that she would remember this conversation in the morning. “I know how I usually act, and I know what you probably think of me.” He took another deep breath, trying to get his words out the right way. This, right now, went beyond the shallow feelings he had for his partner, into the deep ones he has harbored for her that he’s kept hidden for so long. “But I can’t even imagine doing that to you. It- it hurts just thinking about it. So if you think the moon is lonely, I’ll do my best to move it so the sun will always be able to keep it company.”

It sounded cheesy once he put the words out in the air, but they made Summer smile. “I think it would be pretty dark at night without the moon,” she told him, and Qrow should have known better than to have this conversation while they were both drunk.

“But it was very poetic,” Summer added suddenly, pulling him forward. They started walking again, and it wasn’t long before Summer pressed herself again his side, humming her happiness when he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

“Lets go find the shuttle back to Beacon,” he suggested. “It’s getting late. And you’re going to like me less in the morning as it is.”

Summer laughed at that, but let him lead her to the bus stop.

 

Two or so hours after Qrow and Summer left, Raven and Tai decided to head back as well. When they got to their dorm room, Taiyang hesitantly knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect.

Raven rolled her eyes and barged past him. When they both stood in the room, blinking to adjust their eyes to the dark, Raven flashed a satisfied grin and held her hand out to Tai. Grumbling, the blonde pulled out his wallet and passed a few lien to his partner.

Summer was curled up on her bed, which wasn’t unusual in itself. Except instead of her cloak draped around her, there was Qrow.

They were spooning, his long arms holding his partner tightly to his chest and their legs curled together under the blankets. They were both fully dressed in their pajamas and fast asleep.

Raven laughed quietly, shooting Tai a loaded smirk as she grabbed her things and headed to the bathroom to change. “Whipped,” she scoffed to him quietly on her way out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!! I got it done, just for you guys. It felt like there was a rock in my chest when i was writing it, so reading it should be fun :)

Raven took care with where she placed each foot as she entered Yang’s room, doing her best to match the quiet atmosphere contained within the nursery. She was used to stalking through Grimm-infested woods, with crunchy leaves and snappable twigs always underfoot. Yet in the dark of the room, the plush carpet felt louder beneath her bare feet than anything out there.

It was closer to the middle of the night than morning, hours before the sky would turn any color past pitch black, but Raven had known that her daughter was awake before she even left her own bed. It was an itch in the back of her mind that whispered of wakefulness, louder than the soft murmurs that meant Taiyang, Summer, and Qrow were all still fast asleep, but still easily ignorable if she wanted it to be.

She found that she didn’t.

Raven closed the door quietly behind her before taking measured steps over to the crib against the opposite wall. She had promised herself she would give this a try. An honest try. Just for a month or so, just so that she could be sure the pain that cut her breath off when she thought of leaving was worth it. The month was almost up, and her heart hurt either way.

The moonlight that shone through the sheer curtains bathed the crib in a muted glow. Yang was standing up with one hand gripping the crib bars, teetering precariously like she was ready to fall backwards at any minute. Still, her other arm was stretched up, hand grabbing for the mobile that hung above her head. She seemed determined to reach it even though it was over a foot above her, and the way that her tiny nose crinkled with the effort drew a soft smile out of Raven.

She didn’t really do ‘soft’.

Raven reached over and gave the mobile a gentle push, sending the cartoon-like birds that hung down spinning. The birds were Tai’s idea, an idiotic joke that her daughter couldn’t possibly understand, but was still amused by nonetheless.

Yang let out a giggle in delight and let go of the side of the crib, opening and closing both of her hands with renewed vigor. Unsurprisingly she lost her balance pretty quickly, still only just comprehending the mechanics of standing up on her own. She squealed out a nonsense, “Bah!” as she landed, following it up with another stream of giggles.

“You’ve definitely inherited your father’s mouth,” Raven whispered wryly. She leaned forward, resting her crossed arms on the top of the side of the crib. Yang looked so much like Tai that it was difficult to tell that she had any relation to her at all. Her golden blonde hair, the soft way her lilac eyes brightened when she laughed, the ease in which she could babble out words… it was all Taiyang. Even if the ‘words’ she spoke were absolute nonsense.

Raven smiled to herself. Maybe that was another thing the two had in common, though.

Yang raised her hands up towards her mother, the insistent string of babytalk an obvious request to be picked up.

“It’s too early to be up,” Raven replied, not making a move.

Yang, too young to understand the concept of ‘too early’ for anything, waved her hands toward her mother again. “Ubububub!” she said in the most demanding tone that Raven’s ever heard from a baby.

Not that she’s been around a whole lot of babies.

“No, Yang,” Raven said firmly. No way was she going to let herself be bullied by an infant.

Yang’s face crinkled, and at first Raven was worried that she had made her daughter cry.

Again.

Except no tears came, and Raven watched in shock as Yang’s normally light purple eyes darkened within the space of a blink. The light from the moon washed out most colors, but the shade of red that matched that of her own eyes was unmistakable. Raven stood frozen as her nine month old daughter glared up at her, hands outstretched, eyes now red, and her fuzzy golden hair pulsing with a glow like a heartbeat.

The heat that suddenly engulfed her was what startled Raven out of her shock. She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward, carefully picking up Yang so she could get a closer look at her. There was no way that she was imagining it.

Except as soon as she straightened up and Yang was comfortably cradled against her chest, everything was back to normal.

Yang looked up at her with large, very much purple eyes. Her hair was the same honey gold it always was, and the angry pout that had twisted her mouth was gone.

One of Yang’s chubby hands was fisted in the front of Raven’s night shirt -a worn tshirt that was probably an old one of Tai’s now that she thought about it. “Is this all you wanted?” Raven asked her daughter, expecting no real response. “You manipulative little-”

She stopped herself from finishing her sentence. Not because she was concerned about saying anything in front of Yang, though she supposed that she would get an earful if Summer or Tai found out that she did. But the idea brought her up short.

The image of Yang with bright red eyes, the same red eyes that she saw every time she looked into a mirror, was burned into her head. “Maybe you’re more like me than I thought,” she mused as she made her way to the plush armchair in the corner of the room. It was easier for her to pretend like she couldn’t hear the wistfulness in her own voice with no one else around.

Yang let out a yawn that hinted at more exhaustion than someone less than a year old could possibly experience. Raven felt a smile twitch on her own face, entirely out of her control.

“I guess it’s not all bad,” she murmured close to Yang’s head. Her hair tickled Raven’s nose, but she found that she didn’t mind it much. “Qrow was always the one who wanted out of the Tribe. Not me. I was happy there. _I was._ ”

She didn’t mean to get defensive. And to a baby. But it was something that had become a near constant back and forth struggle in her mind. _Had_ she been happy?

“I was going to be Chief,” Raven argued out loud, chest aching for some reason, making her feel like she had to prove her point. “ I had an army of fighters loyal to me, because I was the best of them.”

An image of her teammates forced itself unbidden into her mind. They were loyal though too, weren’t they?

Even when they lost a fight.

Even when Raven herself got injured.

Even the day that Yang was born, and the weeks after. Especially then, when she couldn’t get out of her own head enough to even hold her newborn daughter.

Raven was forced to admit a while ago that she wasn’t the strongest on the team. They were all strong and better together, as nauseating as it was to actually say out loud. They were loyal to her, to each other, but not because they never showed weakness.

Being with her teammates was very different than being with the Tribe. Something that she had said to herself since the first day she and her brother had met Summer and Tai.

“I don’t know what it means anymore,” she admitted quietly, voice barely above a whisper. Yang shifted a little, fist tightening further around Raven’s bunched shirt. The itch in the back of Raven’s mind was quickly calming to the same kind of softness that was her teammates as her daughter finally drifted off to sleep.

Raven looked down at Yang’s relaxed face, no worries in the world to touch it. She brought a hand up and gently brushed her thumb across her daughter’s cheek. It was ethereally soft. Unmarred by much of anything.

How was she even allowed to exist in the same realm as this kind of innocence? Her brother thought that he ruined everything he touched, but she knew that she wasn’t free of her own kind of corruption.

Raven looked through the window, to the inky blackness outside that was probably hiding any number of things, and after a minute or two her gaze was drawn back down to Yang.

A raw kind of heat slowly built up inside of her, though abrupt in the way that it tore through her chest and burned in her throat. Raven’s arms tightened protectively around Yang’s small form. With a mental jolt, she realized that she would fight anything creeping around in that darkness for the sake of her daughter. The idea of it probably shouldn’t have come to as much of a surprise as it did, but she wasn’t used to the feeling of needing to protect anyone.

Not quite like this.

Unsettled, Raven bent her head down to press her lips to the crown of Yang’s head. She had very, very vague memories of her father doing the same to her when she was young.

“One more month won’t hurt,” she murmured into Yang’s hair, feeling like she’s both decided something and gotten nowhere all at once.

Raven leaned her head back against the back of the chair to stare out the window again, a deep breath slowly escaping through her lips. For now though, maybe she could ignore the ‘why’s. For now.

“One month at a time.”


End file.
